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Tema Smith on Muck Rack

Tema Smith

Toronto
As seen in: Medium, The Globe and Mail, Forward, 18Doors, The Detroit Jewish News, Jewish Boston, eJewish Philanthropy, The Canadian Jewish News
Covers:  Jewish identity, race, gender, religious institutions, Jewish demographics, disability and chronic illness, intermarriage, Jewish education.
Like Emma w/ a T. #BlackandJewish; @jdforward columnist; #AnkylosingSpondylitis; ☕️ fueled; Strong opinions are mine alone; She/Her; Professional: @TemaSmithADL
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Opinion | Why will this time be different than all other times

Opinion | Why will this time be different than all other times

The Forward — I will always remember the day my parents gave my brother "the talk." Not the one about the birds and the bees. No, the one about how he, as a young black man, would be seen in a society marred by racism.
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After Corona | Fewer barriers, more intimacy

After Corona | Fewer barriers, more intimacy

The Forward — It was during the first weekend of the lockdown that I attended my first online bat mitzvah. I happened to be at my computer during Shacharit services when Facebook notified me that my congregation was going live. As I watched, notifications popped up as my friends and contacts tuned in.
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Opinion | Jews of Color deserve an accurate count

Opinion | Jews of Color deserve an accurate count

The Forward — This weekend, eJewishPhilanthropy, the main online publication supporting the Jewish professional world, published an essay by demographers of American Jewish life, Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky, "How Many Jews of Color Are There?" which was republished in the Forward. The essay, a preview a chapter in their forthcoming "American Jewish Yearbook", concludes that we have over-counted Jews of Color.
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Opinion | When a new plague exacerbates the old

Opinion | When a new plague exacerbates the old

The Forward — Every year at Passover seders around the world, as families gather to recount the story of the Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt, we recount the ten plagues that befell the Egyptians: Blood, frogs, lice, flies, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, the killing of the firstborn.
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Opinion | How to talk about Black anti-Semitism

Opinion | How to talk about Black anti-Semitism

The Forward — December 2019: a month that the Jewish community will never forget. Though knockout attacks against Hasidic Jews had been on the radar of the broader Jewish world for some time now, the frequency and severity of violent attacks targeting the most visible members of the Jewish community set off new alarm bells.
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Opinion | Stop Blaming Women For The Bad Behavior Of Men Al Franken

Opinion | Stop Blaming Women For The Bad Behavior Of Men Al Franken

The Forward — It was late fall 2017 when the Democratic Party was rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Al Franken, a well-liked senator who owed much of his fame to a long stint on Saturday Night Live. Franken stood accused of unwanted touching.
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Opinion | Why Juneteenth - Which Marks The End Of Slavery - Should Be A Jewish Holiday

Opinion | Why Juneteenth - Which Marks The End Of Slavery - Should Be A Jewish Holiday

The Forward — This week, African Americans will mark Juneteenth - a portmanteau of "June" and "nineteenth" - a holiday commemorating the freedom of their ancestors from chattel slavery. This year, it is time for the Jewish community to join them. All across the country, black communities will parade, will feast, and will pay respect to the ancestors, among other activities.
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Opinion | The Jewish Community Needs to Address Chronic Illness

Opinion | The Jewish Community Needs to Address Chronic Illness

The Forward — One Yom Kippur not so long ago, I was in too much pain to stand at Ne'ilah, the closing service. I was sitting near the back of the synagogue sanctuary, holding back tears.
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Opinion | I'm Black And Jewish. Ilhan Omar's Tweet - And The Backlash - Are Tearing Me Apart

Opinion | I'm Black And Jewish. Ilhan Omar's Tweet - And The Backlash - Are Tearing Me Apart

The Forward — Yesterday, I opened my Twitter timeline to find friends, allies, and colleagues pitting racism and anti-Semitism against each other. The battle lines had been drawn, and I was, as I often am as a mixed race Jew, caught in the middle. Sunday afternoon, Rep.
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Opinion | Are Jews White? American History Says It's Complicated

Opinion | Are Jews White? American History Says It's Complicated

The Forward — The first time someone told me I was white, I was seven years old. Three of my friends, all of them light-skinned black kids like me, taunted me in the schoolyard after my father dropped me off. "That's not your real dad," they said. "He can't be because you're white."
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Opinion | What The Women's March Can Learn From Marc Lamont Hill

Opinion | What The Women's March Can Learn From Marc Lamont Hill

The Forward — Last Wednesday, Temple University professor and former CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill gave a now-infamous speech to the United Nations on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. His conclusion sent shockwaves through the Jewish community.
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Exploiting the Holocaust has become all too acceptable in Canada

Exploiting the Holocaust has become all too acceptable in Canada

The Globe and Mail — In a 2011 lecture delivered to the National Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, Professor Michael Marrus, one of Canada's foremost experts on the history of the Holocaust, made a statement that could be interpreted as a caution: "However the Holocaust is remembered . . .
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Engaging Interfaith Families during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond - eJewish Philanthropy

Engaging Interfaith Families during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond - eJewish Philanthropy

ejewishphilanthropy.com — By Tema Smith As we move through the second month of COVID-19 closures, all across the Jewish professional world, leaders are discussing ways to engage their communities, whether through digital learning, remote pastoral care, or live-streamed services. At 18Doors, we believe that the current reality presents opportunities for Jewish organizations to grow their embrace of [...]
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Opinion | Why will this time be different than all other times

Opinion | Why will this time be different than all other times

The Forward — I will always remember the day my parents gave my brother "the talk." Not the one about the birds and the bees. No, the one about how he, as a young black man, would be seen in a society marred by racism.
Who shared?